Life Goes On
by liz012014
Summary: What do you do when your whole world changes in an instant? SF
1. Partners

Disclaimer: I do not own nothin'  
  
Life Goes On Chapter 1: Partners  
  
"There is no such thing as happiness. Life bends joy and pain,  
beauty and ugliness, in such a way that no one may isolate them.  
No one should want to. Perfect joy, or perfect pain, with no  
contrasting element to define them, would mean a monotony of  
consciousness, would mean death."  
"Box Seat" from Cane  
-Jean Toomer  
  
"What's a pretty thing like you doing in a nasty place like this?" Marco Pulosky leered openly at a beautiful young woman in yellow vinyl hot pants and a matching sleeveless shirt.  
  
The woman boldly met his eye and replied in acid tones, "Did you really just say that?" She pulled a gun from somewhere in the red sweater she wore. It had fallen off her shoulders to pool around her elbows and waist providing in unimpeded view of her considerable cleavage. She smirked at his shocked expression. "That is so cliché."  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?" He backed up a step bumping into the nearby bar counter.  
  
Her smile widened and she daintily pulled a pair of handcuffs out her hidden pockets. "It's not my name that's important. It's my profession." She advanced on him, her facial expression growing feral. "They'd call me a cowboy if I had the right equipment but seeing as how I'm a fragile little girl, I'd call myself a bounty hunter."  
  
Pulosky backed up another step and tripped over an outstretched leg, hitting the floor with a dull thud. A red head wearing black leather that left little to the imagination stood up from the chair she'd been sitting in. She turned to the violet haired, yellow clad woman with the hand cannon. "Bounty hunter?"  
  
The other woman nodded, splitting her attention between her prey and the red-haired woman.  
  
"Hmmm. Me too. My name's Andy. And you are?"  
  
"Faye. You after Pulosky too?"  
  
"Yup." Pulosky began inching toward the door on hands and knees until Andy brought a high-heeled boot down on his hand. He screeched in pain and pulled away, newly aware of how well he was being observed.  
  
"Well.I'm afraid he's mine now seeing as how I have the gun." Faye's smile had long since faded to a cold mask, void of all emotion.  
  
"I have a better idea. How about we split the bounty? Fifty, fifty. Saves on time and eliminates the need for a nasty catfight." Andy grinned showing her canines in a primal gesture of dominance.  
  
Faye grinned back. "What makes you think you can take me?"  
  
Andy shrugged slightly. Pulosky surreptiously reached for a gun in his boot. Andy flicked her wrist and a three-inch long blade found its way into their bounty head's hand. She never took her eyes from Faye's face.  
  
Faye laughed. "Forget I asked."  
  
"Is it a deal then?"  
  
Faye tossed her the handcuffs. "It's a deal."  
  
****  
  
Two women exited the police station side by side. "Well, Faye, it was nice meeting you but I think I'll be on my way. Bounties to catch." Andy winked and turned to walk away.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Faye grabbed the other woman's arm. "How about continuing this? We work together so well."  
  
Andy scrunched her nose thinking. "I don't know. I don't usually work with a partner."  
  
"Oh, come on. It was your idea."  
  
Andy grinned. "Yeah, I guess it was." She paused before nodding. "Ok. Let's do it."  
  
tbc (please, please, please review) 


	2. What's Past

Chapter 2: What's Past.  
  
"The soul takes flight to a world that is invisible and  
there arriving she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in  
paradise."  
Plato  
  
Jet moved about the empty ship aimlessly. After Spike's abrupt departure, he had thrown himself into fixing the Redtail. When that was done he had started on the Hammerhead and the Bebop itself. He cleaned the ship from top to bottom. As long as he was busy, he didn't have to worry. He didn't have to think about how Spike wasn't coming back. Somewhere between cleaning the forward hold and the kitchen, Jet was vaguely aware of the sound of the Redtail lifting off and flying away. Two hours later he found Faye's note.  
  
Jet,  
Thanks. I'll be back.  
  
It was around that time that the communicator buzzed indicating an incoming call. He picked it up and turned it on, nervously eyeing the image of an old ISSP friend that appeared. "Yeah?"  
  
"I've got news about your partner. He trashed the Syndicate building. I'd say he was in real trouble except the members seem to have sworn loyalty to him. There are rumors that he killed a man named Vicious. He was their last head guy." The man shook his head and his frown deepened. "I gotta tell you, Jet. Two coups in this short a span is bad news. The syndicates are violent as hell but they keep order. I don't know what's going to happen now. The political climate was explosive before but this is just madness."  
  
Jet's eyes widened as he absorbed the officer's words. "He's alive?"  
  
The other man smiled slightly. "Yeah. Busted up pretty good but very much alive. He's at Mariam County Hospital. I wouldn't recommend going for a visit though. He's under heavy syndicate guard."  
  
Jet nodded and returned his friend's smile. "Thanks for the update. It's good to know he's all right."  
  
"Sure thing, Jet."  
  
Jet turned the communicator off and sat silently for several minutes before turning it back on. He punched in the sequence that would call Faye's com unit. It buzzed several times before going to a message service. "Call the Bebop Faye. I've got news."  
  
But Faye didn't call the Bebop. At least not immediately. Faye had just returned to her ship after making a quick stop to rest on Ganymede. It had taken her a while to decide where to go but she'd finally decided on Earth. She had a sudden and overwhelming desire to check on Ed. When she climbed into the cockpit she saw the light on her com unit blinking steadily. She sighed and hit the button to listen to the message. "Call the Bebop Faye. I've got news." Her body froze and her stomach bottomed out. She knew what the news would be. Spike was dead. She took a calming breath and reached for the buttons on the console that would allow her to return Jet's call. Again, she froze, hand mere inches from the console. She couldn't do it. Not yet. Faye slouched in her seat, visibly shaken and sighed. She wasn't ready.  
  
tbc(reviews are a wonderful thing.) 


	3. The Here and Now

Chapter 3: The Here and Now  
  
Jet left several more messages and Faye ignored them all. After three days, she finally admitted defeat and made the call. "Hey, Jet."  
  
Jet's voice was tired and worried. "Faye! I've been calling you for the past three days. Where have you been?"  
  
Faye scowled at Jet's sudden departure into the parental. "Ganymede. Callisto. Right now I'm on Earth."  
  
"Earth? Have you seen Ed?"  
  
Faye smiled at the mention of the young hacker. "Not yet but I've been looking for her." She paused and gave him a tired smirk. "I've also been bounty hunting."  
  
Jet was conversational. "Find anything good?"  
  
"Met some interesting people." Faye threw an ironic look through the cockpit glass at her new partner.  
  
"I have news, Faye.about Spike."  
  
Her breath caught in her throat and she had to force herself to breath. "So I hear."  
  
"It's not that bad. He's alive." Faye could hear the grin in Jet's voice.  
  
The breath she thought she had regained control over expelled itself from her lungs with a woosh. "Alive?"  
  
"Yeah. He's pretty banged up but apparently the remaining Syndicate members swore loyalty to him as the victor and took him to the hospital for treatment. A friend of mine at the ISSP has been keeping me updated and he called this morning to say that Spike's going to be ok."  
  
Faye's poor rattled brain was having trouble processing what she'd heard. "Syndicate?"  
  
"Yeah but I think it's going to be all right." Jet sounded almost optimistic.  
  
There was a pause, then "How could it possibly be all right!?"  
  
Jet spoke his next words as though he were speaking to an unreasonable five year old. "Faye, I know you're upset. I'm upset, too. But."  
  
"No! I can't hear this right now." Faye shook her head as if to negate the entire conversation. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'll be home soon."  
  
Jet sighed. "We can't see him."  
  
"What?"  
  
"He's too heavily guarded. They won't let us in."  
  
Her voice shook slightly with pain. "But we're his friends."  
  
Jet sighed again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that. "We are his friends but the Syndicate doesn't know that and they aren't taking any chances with their new leader."  
  
"I'm going to need a little time to deal with this, Jet. I don't know what to do. Is there anything to do?" Faye Valentine sounded more lost in that moment then Jet had ever heard her sound.  
  
He didn't have an answer for her. He couldn't tell her what she so desperately needed to hear. "I don't know either. We'll just have to hang around until he's healed up a bit more and then try to contact him through the Syndicate."  
  
Faye nodded and prepared to hang up. "Thanks, Jet. I'll call again in a few days."  
  
"Talk to you soon, Faye. Stay safe."  
  
Faye turned the com off with more force than was really necessary and tossed the unit onto the dashboard. She was still sitting there trying to order her tangled thoughts when there was rap on the cockpit window. "You ok in there? You've been in there for over an hour." Andy balanced on the edge of the Redtail looking concerned.  
  
"Fine." Faye tried to smile. "I'll be out in a minute." Andy nodded and hopped to the ground.  
  
Several minutes later a now composed bounty hunting diva landed lightly beside her ship and crossed the parking area to her new partner. Faye smiled by way of greeting. "Men. They are so useless sometimes."  
  
Andy grinned. "I figured it had to do with a man." She waved a hand dismissively as though gesturing at Faye's phone call. "Men are such trouble."  
  
"Definitely." Faye focused her thoughts on the present, changing the subject. "So who's this new bounty?"  
  
tbc(pretty please with sugar on top.I crave reviews) 


	4. Soldier

Chapter 4: Soldier  
  
"A soldier accepts personal responsibility for the safety  
of the body politic of which it is a member, defending it,  
if need be with his life."  
  
Starship Troopers  
  
Robert Heinlein  
  
Memories flashed across closed eyelids. A hail of bullets. A sea of destruction. Corpses with familiar faces. Then.blackness. Total, infinite, complete dark. He was a soldier, willing to die for what he believed in. His memories turned to a violet-haired woman, gun held steadily at his head. She didn't understand and he didn't have time to explain. She thought he left for Julia. She was right but there was more to it. More that she had no knowledge of.  
  
As consciousness returned, Spike remembered killing Vicious and he remembered his reasons. His friend, his former best friend, had lost his sanity completely. He lived only for destruction now. Mao was dead. Annie was dead. Julia too. Spike knew that he had to stop the killing and that meant stopping Vicious in the only way he knew how. He had no choice but to kill him. That didn't make it hurt any less.  
  
He groaned softly. Everything hurt. He'd really done it this time. "Mr. Spiegal?" The voice was vaguely familiar but not worth opening his eyes for. "Mr. Spiegal, can you hear me?"  
  
Heavy eyelids fluttered open at the insistence of the voice, already knowing what he would see. There were two men in suits on either side of the bed and another, the speaker, was at his bedside. They were all Syndicate.  
  
Spike evaluated his injuries silently before speaking. Pain radiated from everywhere and it occurred to him that he must not be on much in the way of painkillers. Good for clarity, not so good for comfort. "What?"  
  
"It's good to see you awake. Do you remember me?"  
  
Spike focused on his face. "You were one of Mao's aids. Lucas, right?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. Mao always wanted to pass his position on to you. He just thought he'd be around to do it formally."  
  
Spike frowned. "I know what you're going to say and I don't want it. There has to be someone else."  
  
Lucas shook his head. "There's no one." He sighed heavily. "If you don't take it someone else will and the Syndicate will destroy itself. It's already falling apart and you know what that means to the people who live within it."  
  
It was Spike's turn to sigh. "I can't. Too many things have changed. I'm not the man I was when I worked for the Syndicate."  
  
"You're all we have."  
  
"The elders won't accept me as leader. I was a traitor." Memories of the life he left behind long ago flashed before one of his eyes and visions of the future across the other.  
  
"They don't have a choice. They'll accept you or the entire organization will die." Lucas moved toward the door. "We'll all be wiped out by rival organizations. Everyone, even the ones who don't know they're a part of it. Think it over. I'll be back to get your answer. Rest now."  
  
Spike's mind churned with possibilities. All but one brought about the destruction of the Syndicate and the deaths of innocent people. Not all of the people in the Syndicate were hardened criminals. Some of them were like Annie, good people who were just sucked in by others. Thoughts of Annie reminded him of the amount of death he had already been witness to and his decision became simple. As usual, Spike Spiegal was fighting for his life but this time thousands of other people depended on his ability to survive as well. The choice was made before Lucas even entered the room. 


	5. Moving Along

Chapter 5: Moving Along  
  
"Life is filled with tragedy, if you let it  
overwhelm you, you cannot enjoy life's innocent  
pleasures."  
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls  
Robert Heinlein  
  
"This is so much better than working alone." Andy flipped her long auburn hair over her shoulder with one hand while lifting her glass with the other.  
  
Faye grinned as she considered the bounties the two women had brought in together. They had made a considerable amount of money and caused a negligible amount of property damage. "Most definitely." Faye took a sip from her own glass. "And unlike with my last set of partners, we get to keep the money because we haven't blown up half a city block in the process."  
  
Andy returned Faye's smile, amused. "I'd really love to meet these old partners of yours. From everything you've said they must be really interesting."  
  
Faye laughed at the extra stress Andy placed on the word "interesting" and replied, "Yes, they are. 'Interesting' is definitely the right word for it." A quiet chime sounded from Faye's ever-present sweater and she quickly pulled out her communicator. She pushed the on button and was greeted by a familiar face. "Ed! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"  
  
Ed's face lit up with the enthusiastic greeting. "Hi, Faye-Faye. It's good to see you too."  
  
"How are you? It's been a while. Jet's been worried." Faye neglected to mention that she had been concerned for the young hacker as well.  
  
"Edward has been good, Faye-Faye. But she misses Bebop." Her smile faltered. "Ed's father is gone."  
  
Faye frowned. "I'm sorry, Ed. What are you going to do now?"  
  
Ed's smile slowly returned. "Well.That depends."  
  
"On what?"  
  
"On what Faye-Faye needed Ed for." She giggled.  
  
Faye smiled. "Just wanted to check in and make sure you were all right." She paused. "You could come back to the Bebop, you know. You're always welcome there."  
  
Ed grinned broadly. "Ok, Faye-Faye. Ed will go back to Bebop."  
  
"That's wonderful, Ed. I'm actually on Earth right now so I can bring you back with me when I leave."  
  
Ed clapped her hands in glee. "Yay!!!" She paused and looked quizzically at her old friend. "Faye-Faye has a new ship?"  
  
"No. Why?" Faye frowned confused at Ed's question.  
  
"Redtail is not big enough to fit Faye-Faye, Ed, and Ein." The girl emitted a mournful sigh.  
  
Faye glanced at Andy questioningly. Andy grinned. "I did say I wanted to meet them."  
  
Faye grinned and turned back to her com unit. "Don't worry, Ed. I've got a friend with a ship that's big enough to accommodate both of you."  
  
"Yay!!! Ed cannot wait to meet Faye-Faye's new friend. Ed is very excited." Ed's communicator appeared to shake as she bounced in happiness.  
  
"That's great, Ed. I'll call you soon to let you know when we'll be leaving." Faye couldn't help but smile at Ed's infectious joy.  
  
"Ok. Bye-bye, Faye-Faye."  
  
"Bye, Ed." Faye laughed lightly as she turned off the communicator. She turned to her partner with a smile. "I hope you know what you're getting into."  
  
Andy quirked an eyebrow. "You know better than that, Faye. I am the impulsive one here after all."  
  
Faye giggled in response. "I have a few friends that would beg to differ." She climbed to her feet, tossing money for her bill onto the table. "Let's get going. We've got one more bounty to catch before we head back." With that, the two women exited the bar.  
  
tbc(I so appreciate the reviews. but more are always good and please let me know if I need to fix anything.) 


	6. To the Future

Chapter 6: To the Future.  
  
"How far that little candle throws his beams!  
So shines a good deed in a naughty world."  
"The Merchant of Venice"  
Shakespeare  
  
Spike stared, unseeing out the window of his hospital room. He could sit up with help now that the drugs had worn off completely. He sighed, thinking of yet another life he had just lost. Another of his own. Because of the situation with the Syndicate, his life with the Bebop was over. His luck certainly didn't seem to have improved.  
  
Lucas entered the room without knocking. Spike turned from his view of the window. "Problem?"  
  
"Not so far." Lucas crossed the room and pulled the blinds closed.  
  
Spike frowned, suspicion evident on his face. "I don't like being kept in the dark, Lucas, literally or figuratively. What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing much. Just an assassination attempt on the new head of the Red Dragons." Lucas was casual. "There's red jello for lunch."  
  
Spike smirked at the aid's attitude. "Oh, well in that case, maybe I'll just take a nap."  
  
"It's contained."  
  
There was a pause as Spike studied the other man's emotionless face. "And exactly how many attempts have there been?"  
  
Lucas shrugged. "Four or five. Nothing serious. They were all amateurs, mostly thugs that worked for our last leader." He was careful not to call Vicious by name.  
  
"Is that common?"  
  
"Very. We only have to worry if they start to get close." Lucas grinned dangerously. "And they have to go through a lot of people, including me, to get close."  
  
"Well, gee.I feel so much better now."  
  
"You should. It's a good omen for the rest of your reign as leader. It means you'll be a force to be reckoned with." Lucas' smile grew more genuine.  
  
Spike's amusement fell away. "Yeah." He sighed heavily. After a moment he turned to Lucas and said, "It's funny how you never truly appreciate how good you've got it until you lose it."  
  
Lucas nodded. "I know you don't want to do this and I know that you're aware of how important it is that you do it anyway. I just wanted to let you know that I think you're doing a very good thing, a very important thing. Even if not everyone understands that yet."  
  
Spike looked away, silent. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and slightly bitter. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was important."  
  
"Good. We're in agreement then." At the sound of the room's doorknob turning, Lucas slid one hand into his jacket to touch the shoulder holster he always wore.  
  
"It's me, sir. All clear." The door opened and a young Syndicate suit that Spike had never seen before poked his head in. "The problem is contained, sir."  
  
"Good. Make sure to look over the accounts of what happened and fix the problem. I don't want anymore of these ridiculous attacks." Lucas dismissed the man with a wave and turned back to Spike.  
  
Spike watched Lucas in silence until the man left. Lucas turned to meet his gaze and Spike spoke. "Where's that jello?"  
  
tbc(help support starving writers-please review) 


	7. Trick or Treat

Chapter 7: Trick or Treat  
  
"You speak a language that I understand not.  
My life stands in the level of your dreams,  
Which I'll lay down."  
The Winter's Tale  
Shakespeare  
  
A sneaker clad foot connected sharply with the back of a very big and very ugly thug's head. THWACK!!! Aforementioned thug dropped to the ground in an inelegant heap.  
  
Faye grinned and clapped appreciatively. "Very nice."  
  
Andy took a mock bow and turned to their now unconscious bounty. "Aw, the other half of my audience didn't see my trick." She leaned down and cuffed the man's hands behind him.  
  
"But I bet he won't forget your trick any time in the near future." Faye joined Andy in dragging their meal-ticket to Andy's ship. She sighed as she realized that right after they turned in this bounty and picked up Ed they would be leaving for the Bebop. Soon she would be back in the grip of all her old memories.  
  
They climbed into Andy's ship and made their way to the nearest ISSP station to turn in their find. Then, Andy flew Faye back to where she had left the Redtail. Faye climbed aboard her ship and reluctantly picked up her communicator.  
  
It barely rang once before an enthusiastic Ed answered. "Faye-Faye! Is it time to go to Bebop now?"  
  
Faye couldn't help but smile at the girl's exuberance. "Yes, Ed. It's time to go to the Bebop."  
  
"Will Ed see Jet and Spike-person too?"  
  
Faye's frown returned. "Jet's there but Spike isn't. He had to go away for a while. I don't know if he's going to come back, Ed."  
  
"Why not?" Ed sounded almost forlorn as she asked Faye the question she'd been asking herself since he'd left.  
  
"I don't really understand it either, Ed. All I know is that he had to put his past to rest and he got himself hurt pretty badly in the process." 'And now we all wait to see if he'll come back to us. Sometimes I feel like I'm the one who's living a dream now, waiting to see if it's a sweet dream or a nightmare,' Faye thought as she discussed a pickup time for Ed and hung up. 'His fight with Vicious was the impetus for the disintegration of our happy little family. I wonder if he misses it too.'  
  
"When do we leave to pick up the kid?" Andy's voice pulled Faye from her reverie.  
  
Faye shook her head to clear away her nostalgic thoughts before answering. "We should leave now."  
  
Andy nodded and headed for her ship. "I can't wait to meet your friends. I have a feeling they'll bring me a great deal of insight into the 'Real Faye Valentine.'" She didn't wait for her friend's comeback as she climbed aboard her ship and turned the ignition. "Here we go."  
  
tbc(reviews are greatly appreciated.still) 


	8. Empty Palace

Chapter 8: Empty Palace  
  
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on,  
and our little life is rounded with a sleep."  
The Tempest  
Shakespeare  
  
It had been several days since the red jello incident when Spike was finally permitted to leave the hospital. His injuries were healing quickly but he knew he would be in pain for some time still. As soon as he was able to hobble about a little Lucas had pushed for his release and taken him to a very upscale apartment complex. He had gestured at the set of buildings and told Spike, "The Syndicate owns this place. You should be safe here. Security is high and the people that live here are all loyal to the Red Dragons."  
  
Spike stared at Lucas, expression blank. "Should be?"  
  
Lucas grinned. "I've never been one to believe in absolutes."  
  
"Great."  
  
Reaching into his coat pocket, Lucas produced a handkerchief wrapped around a lump of something. "That's what this is for." He handed the object to Spike. "I thought you might be missing this."  
  
Spike quirked an eyebrow and accepted the hastily wrapped package. He pulled the handkerchief aside to reveal the weapon he'd had on his person when he'd fought Vicious. Turning back to Lucas, he smirked and carefully slipped his present into his pocket. "I'm feeling somewhat better about this place now."  
  
Lucas laughed. "Wait 'til you see the inside."  
  
"Can't wait."  
  
Lucas took him to an elevator and produced a special key that he put into a slot on the wall. He didn't push any buttons. As soon as the doors shut, the car began a steady ascent to the top floor. Lucas caught the look Spike gave him. "Don't even need to push a button. In fact, there isn't a button for the top floor. You have to have a key." The door opened and admitted the two men to a short hallway. At the far end was a single door with a keypad beside it. Lucas typed in the pass code before reaching for another key. "You have to put in the code before you try the key or you get a nasty surprise in form of 2,000 volts of electricity."  
  
Spike nodded. "That's definitely something to remember."  
  
Lucas grinned at the understatement. He opened the door and moved quickly to yet another keypad. He typed in another code before turning back to Spike. "That is the alarm system. If it goes off you'll have ten armed guards here in under a minute. I'll write the codes down for you and get you copies of the keys before I leave."  
  
"So, I get to be a big boy and be on my own now."  
  
"Sort of. You'll be alone in the apartment but there will be guards on call in the building at all times and I will be by to help you get set up for your duties as leader of the Red Dragons. I'm afraid that's the best we can do. There isn't much room for privacy with a job like yours."  
  
Spike nodded again. "I expected as much."  
  
"The details can wait until tomorrow. I'm sure you'll want time to get settled."  
  
Spike stuffed a hand in each of his pockets and slouched against a nearby wall. "I want to call my friends."  
  
Lucas sighed, the humor fading from his expression. "Don't do it from here. I'll see what I can do about setting up a secure line at the office but you have to be very careful. They can't know where you live. They can't come see you. If you try to they could be put in danger."  
  
Spike nodded solemnly. "I owe it to Jet to at least thank him for putting up with me the last few years." Lucas could tell there was more that Spike was leaving unsaid; the emotions flickered across his face briefly as he talked about the crew of the Bebop. He couldn't help but think that Spike looked like a man trying to decide whether he was dreaming or awake.  
  
"I'll try to get it set up for tomorrow."  
  
Spike rendered a weak smile and a mumbled "Thanks."  
  
Lucas took that as his cue to leave. "I'll let you get settled then. I'll call before I come over tomorrow but you better get your sleep. It'll be early." He headed for the door, leaving a somewhat unhappy Spike in his wake.  
  
tbc  
  
(There was one line there that sounded like one from the Matrix. I didn't realize it until after I wrote it and I like the effect it has so.the "dreaming or awake" line isn't entirely mine.) 


	9. Where the Heart Is

For those of you who asked for longer chapters.you're about to get your wish. This one is about 3 times the size of the rest of them. I hope it's not too long. Anyway.On with the story.  
  
Chapter 9: Where the Heart Is  
  
"We write our own destiny. We become what we do."  
Madame Chiang Kai-Shek  
  
"Bebop, this is Redtail. Can you hear me, Jet?" Faye's voice came suddenly over the previously all too quiet communication system.  
  
Jet sprang to his feet from his resting place on the couch. 'Just when I get used to having my couch back.' He grinned widely. "I hear you, Faye. I take it you want me to open the hangar then."  
  
Jet could hear the smile in her voice as she responded. "Jet, you know you want to open that hangar because it's not unprecedented for me to make my own doors."  
  
"Yeah." He grimaced at the memory of her blasting a whole in the hull and quickly hit the starship version of the garage door opener, allowing the Redtail to land. It was followed closely by another ship he didn't recognize but that seemed to be following Faye.  
  
Jet proceeded to walk quickly down the hallways to the hangar, arriving just in time to meet his former crewmates as they climbed down from their vehicles. He smiled brightly, happy to have them back. "It's good to see both of you looking so well.  
  
Ed spun from the wing of Andy's craft and scurried down the side racing to Jet and wrapping her arms around him in an enthusiastic bear hug. Jet grunted as the air was forced from his lungs all at once and patted Ed's head in response to her ecstatic, "Ed has missed Jet-person so, so, so, so much. Ed is very glad to see him."  
  
He inhaled deeply before finding the breath to speak. "I somehow got that impression. It's good to see you too, Ed."  
  
Faye approached then and in a very un-Faye-like move, reached to draw both her old friends into a group embrace. Jet's smile grew even bigger. "I guess Faye missed us too, Ed."  
  
A loud yapping drew the trio's attention to Andy as she tried to simultaneously climb down from her ship and balance Ein without either of them falling. Abruptly, she dropped the rest of the way to the floor, landing lightly and released the hyper canine to his own devices. The dog raced to join the impromptu family gathering and it was with great pleasure that Jet realized they were now missing only one member of the crew. A mild sadness gnawed at him as he thought briefly of Spike but withdrew under the weight of his gratitude at having the rest of his friends returned to him.  
  
"Well.This is nice. Are you going to introduce me or should I take that liberty myself?" Andy cut in, smirking at the touching scene before her. She was pleased to see that her friend's tough exterior really was only to protect her innermost feelings. 'She is human.'  
  
Faye stepped back from Ed and Jet to gesture to Andy. "Sorry. This is Andy. She's a bounty hunter too. We worked together on a couple of cases on Earth and decided to become partners." Pointing to Jet, she said, "This is Jet. He'd hate it if he knew all the stories I've told you about him."  
  
Jet turned a mildly irritated glare on Faye before taking Andy's hand and shaking it politely. "Good to meet you, Andy."  
  
Andy grinned in response. "They were all good things anyway. Faye thinks a lot of you, despite what she might say." For her part, Faye did not deny Andy's words. She simply smiled and moved back to her ship to get her bags.  
  
"Well, we don't have a lot of space here but you're welcome to stay for as long as you want." Jet was already playing the part of the gracious host.  
  
"Thank you. I don't really know what the plan is at this point. Faye just said it was time for her to come back. She wouldn't go into details as to exactly what that meant."  
  
Jet nodded. "That sounds like Faye." He looked to see Faye climbing back down from the Redtail.  
  
She grinned. "Hey, Jet. Got anything to eat?"  
  
He sighed. "Some things never change." He led the way down the hall to the living area. "Faye, see to it that Andy gets the grand tour and find a place for her to sleep."  
  
Faye nodded and took Andy on a walking tour of the Bebop, beginning with the living room and ending with the back storage areas that no one ever went in.  
  
Jet watched them start down the hallway before heading for the kitchen. He was almost out of the room when he heard the distinctive beep of the communication unit that indicated an incoming call. He pressed the button to answer and was surprised when Spike's tired face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Jet."  
  
Jet shook his head to clear it before responding. "Hey. I wasn't sure we'd ever hear from you again."  
  
The other man ran a self-conscious hand through his hair, sighing. "This is probably the last time I'll be able to contact you. I've been told it's not safe."  
  
"And when have we ever done what was safe."  
  
"Don't be like that, Jet. I have to do this. People I care about have died to protect the Red Dragons. Annie, Julia, Lin and Shin. They all died because Vicious became the leader of the Syndicate. I won't let anyone else die because another like him gains control. If I'm here, they can't be. And I don't want anyone to go after you because they know you're my friend." Spike had grown somewhat agitated as he spoke but now with his thoughts out in the open, he relaxed, waiting on Jet's response.  
  
"So.You're not coming back."  
  
Spike sighed again, even more heavily than before. "Nope. At least not for a long time."  
  
Jet felt a great sadness settle over him as he realized that his family would never be complete again. He would be forever without the nearest thing to a brother he had ever had. He nodded silently, gathering his strength before speaking. "So that's it then."  
  
Spike nodded. "Yeah. I just wanted to let you know and.thank you, for everything you did." He smiled wistfully. "Even the food."  
  
Jet smiled then too. "Stay safe, Spike."  
  
Spike smiled. "Thanks.If you see Ed.and Faye.could you tell them good bye for me. Tell them that I was glad to know them."  
  
"They're here. I can probably find them if you can wait a few minutes." Jet made as if to get up.  
  
Spike shook his head. "I'm getting the cut-off sign. I gotta go. Tell them what I said?"  
  
Jet sighed. "You've got it, Spike."  
  
Without further comment, Spike leaned across the screen and hit the off button leaving Jet with the burden of his "farewells." He sighed again before climbing heavily to his feet and heading for the kitchen.  
  
Jet was almost done preparing dinner when Faye and Andy appeared in the small dining room the crew had previously almost never used. Both women had changed clothes, trading provocative bounty hunting attire for more comfortable jeans and t-shirts. Jet carried plates into the dining room and almost dropped them as he caught sight of Faye. "Wow."  
  
Faye threw him a quizzical glance. "What?"  
  
"I'm just in shock. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you wearing something that both wasn't yellow and contained that much fabric." Jet chuckled as he began setting places at the table.  
  
Faye glared. "Thanks, Jet." She focused her stare on Andy as she discovered the other women grinning and trying valiantly to contain her laughter.  
  
"I had no idea that that outfit was such an institution." Andy choked out around her stifled good humor.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Faye's been wearing that since I met her." Jet walked back into the kitchen for silverware.  
  
While he was gone, Ed skipped into the room with Ein hot on her heels. Girl and dog ran circles around the table, Ed with arms stretched out to either side making plane noises. Jet stepped through the door and almost collided with her, barely hopping back in time. "Ed! Stop that."  
  
Ed paused long enough to give Jet a searching look before continuing on her way around the table.  
  
Jet threw his hands up in frustration and returned to the kitchen to retrieve their food.  
  
Faye sniffed delicately. "What's that smell, Jet? It can't possibly be your cooking."  
  
Jet emerged from the other room with a casserole dish and placed it on the table before turning a disapproving look on Faye. "There is nothing wrong with my cooking. There never has been. The only problem I have is when I have nothing to work with. Bell peppers do not fine cuisine make."  
  
Faye grinned. "I can definitely take being proven wrong when the result smells like that."  
  
"Ed is hungry, Jet-person." Ed had finally stopped moving and was gazing hungrily at the casserole.  
  
"Well, let's eat then." He pulled out a chair and sat as the others found their own chairs and joined him.  
  
They ate in silence for several minutes until Ed asked, "Is Andy your real name?"  
  
Andy laughed. "Andy is a nickname. My real name is Miranda."  
  
Ed nodded, satisfied and returned to her food.  
  
Jet sat quietly, lost in thought. 'I never knew anything like that about Ed, or Faye.or Spike. I never asked but I should have.' He spoke. "How did you get into bounty hunting, Andy?"  
  
Andy's lips curled into a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. Jet was about to apologize and tell her he was just making conversation when she answered. "It's not a very happy story. I actually used to be a teacher, fourth grade. I was happily married and the world seemed like a beautiful, wonderful place. Then two years ago, there was a bank robbery. My husband was one of the assistant managers on duty that day. He tried to keep them from shooting a pregnant teller that couldn't stop crying and they killed him for his trouble. After that, I was too angry to be an effective teacher so I decided to find a job where I could put people like the ones who killed my husband in jail where they belong. It came down to being a cowboy or applying for the ISSP. Cowboys don't have nearly the rules to follow that ISSP does, plus they pay better." She paused and tried to smile again. "So, I sold everything I owned, bought a ship, and started hunting bounty heads."  
  
The room was utterly silent after Andy finished her tale. "I'm sorry. It was none of my business."  
  
Andy patted Jet's arm reassuringly. "It's ok. I don't mind telling all of you."  
  
"On that note.anyone else want a beer?" Faye pushed her chair back and headed for the kitchen. Ed opened her mouth to speak. "Not you, Ed." Her mouth closed and she pouted her disappointment.  
  
"Ed is big girl now."  
  
"Ed is still talking about herself in the third person." Faye threw back from the kitchen. "Andy? Jet?" Two voices sent a unison "yes" back to her. Faye returned moments later with three beer bottles in hand.  
  
Jet waited for Faye to take a couple sips before relating the message he'd been given earlier. "I got a call earlier."  
  
"Yeah? Who from?" Faye took another sip before settling her drink on the table in front of her.  
  
"Spike." He waited for her reaction.  
  
"Oh." She paused. "What did he have to say?"  
  
"He called to say goodbye. He said I should tell you and Ed that he was glad to have known you."  
  
"And he couldn't wait and talk to Ed and I himself?" Faye's voice was tinged with anger.  
  
"He said it was dangerous for him to contact us. He didn't want anyone to come after us because we know the leader of the Red Dragons."  
  
"You know the what!" Andy stiffened in her chair and her face paled considerably.  
  
Jet turned to face Andy at her sudden outburst. "Spike Spiegal."  
  
Andy turned angrily to Faye. "How come you neglected to mention that you're connected to the Syndicate?"  
  
Faye stared at her partner for a moment before answering. "We're not really connected. Spike was a member of the crew up until just shortly before I met you. Because of circumstances that I don't entirely understand and really don't feel like going into right now, he killed the last leader of the Red Dragons. Apparently that means he has to take his place. We didn't even know if he was going to survive the injuries he sustained during their fight until about a week ago." She paused and blinked rapidly turning her face from away from her friends. "I guess he's really not coming back."  
  
Jet answered quietly. "I'm sorry, Faye. He's not."  
  
She nodded and turned back to Andy. "You don't have to worry about the Syndicate. We won't have anything to do with them." Jet nodded.  
  
"No more Spike-person?" Ed asked with the voice of a terrified girl half her age.  
  
"It'll be ok, Ed." Jet reached a protective arm around the young hacker's shoulders. She sniffled quietly.  
  
"Excuse me." Faye climbed to her feet and walked quickly down the hall to her old room.  
  
"He must really be something special." Andy gave Jet a sympathetic smile.  
  
He returned it unevenly. "Yeah. He was something."  
  
tbc (wow. that was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. reviews please.) 


	10. Professional Problems

Chapter 10: Professional Problems  
  
"a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the  
chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in  
doing anything he is doing right or wrong-acting the part of a  
good man or of a bad."  
"The Apology of Socrates"  
Plato  
  
(The sound of metal on metal screeched in his ears as Vicious' sword struck his gun. They traded blow after blow, each wounding the numerous times. Spike already knew how it would end. He would win but he wouldn't feel any real triumph in his victory. He would stare down at the visage of his oldest friend as the life drained from his body in a red stream. A twinge of regret, then only the cold.  
  
He staggered back into the building and slowly began to descend. It had yet to occur to him that he didn't know where he was going. Only that he should leave. When he reached the steps he indifferently noticed that he was no longer in pain. That should have worried him but he was much to cold to worry. The stairs seemed to go on forever. He determinedly put one foot in front of the other continuing as though he had a purpose, like he was Orpheus on his way to retrieve his Eurydice. But Julia was dead and unlike Orpheus he wouldn't be permitted to travel into the Underworld to bring her back. 'Maybe I'll join her.' He smiled at the thought then frowned as another face and a shock of violet hair flashed before his eyes. 'She'll be sad.' He thought of his friends, those he would be leaving behind. 'Is it worth it? Is she worth leaving them?'  
  
He paused looking up from his reverie to see fifteen or so Red Dragons gathered at the bottom of the stairs looking up at him in surprise. None had reached for their weapons yet. 'Well, they aren't very well trained.' Smirking at the irony he raised his hand and pointed it like a gun. "Bang." Then everything faded away and there was only darkness.)  
  
Spike sat up in bed breathing heavily. He groaned. "Dreams suck." Untangling himself from his sheets, he climbed to his feet and made his way out to the kitchen for a glass of water. He shivered at the overactive air- conditioning in the kitchen and silently reflected on the benefits of sleeping in more clothing than just boxers.  
  
After several minutes of hunting through unfamiliar cabinets in search of a glass, Spike successfully found one and filled it with tap water. He took a sip then turned to lean on the counter. 'So this is my life.'  
  
He was interrupted from his somber reflections by a pounding on the door followed quickly by the sound of someone scraping a key in the lock. Spike tensed, looking around for a handy weapon. His eyes settled on a knife rack and he pulled a wicked looking one from its place, testing its weight before turning to face the door.  
  
It opened quickly slamming into the wall behind it. Lucas stumbled in, gun in hand. "Spike!" He threw the door closed and locked it quickly. "Spike! We gotta get out here."  
  
"What's going on?" Lucas jumped as he heard Spike's voice come from somewhere other than the bedroom.  
  
Lucas took a painful breath. "We've got a problem. Assassins. This time there are more then one and they're most definitely professionals. The guards won't be able to hold them off for long."  
  
Spike calmly studied the other man. "Were you shot?"  
  
"Huh?" Lucas looked down at the blood running down his arm. "Yeah, I guess so. We need to leave now. There isn't much time."  
  
"I'll get my gun." Spike headed for his bedroom. He pulled a pair of jeans on over his boxers and grabbed a t-shirt before grabbing his gun from the nightstand. He crossed the room to the closet grabbing a leather jacket and pulling that on as well.  
  
Spike quickly made his way back to the front door where Lucas was waiting for him. "Ready?" Spike nodded. Lucas reached to open the door but Spike stepped around him so that he could take point. He nodded to Lucas again. Lucas opened the door and Spike stepped through quickly gun ready. The hallway was empty but the floor indicator above the elevator door signaled an approaching car.  
  
Spike looked back at Lucas. "They couldn't have a key to this floor could they?" The floor indicator counted steadily, passing one floor after another.  
  
Lucas shook his head. "They don't need one. They have a hacker."  
  
Spike sighed. 'Now he tells me.' "Let's go back inside. We'll have to take them out to get to the elevator."  
  
"No. There's an emergency staircase to the floor below in you bedroom. They shouldn't know about that. It's not in the original blueprints."  
  
The two men moved back into the apartment and Spike locked the door behind them. Silently, they made their way to the bedroom and Lucas pulled a book off the shelf and reached behind it. He pushed a small knot in the wood causing a section of wall on the other side of the room to slide away, revealing a set of narrow, dark stairs leading down. Spike met Lucas' eyes. The other man nodded and Spike moved into the stairwell ahead of him, sniffing the stale air and storing the information for future reference. Lucas pressed a button beside the opening and the wall slid closed, sealing them in.  
  
When they reached the bottom, Lucas moved around Spike and fumbled for another button. After a moment the wall in front of them slid quietly aside and Spike stepped out into a furnished apartment. He stepped aside, letting Lucas move past him to lead the way. They fell back on old training that both men had received at the hands of the Red Dragons, creeping quietly in formation, alert for the slightest sound. They reached the front door without incident and Spike spared another glance for Lucas' wounded shoulder. He noted with mild satisfaction that the wound wasn't bleeding much and that though his face was a little pale, Lucas didn't seem to be going into shock.  
  
Lucas opened the door to the apartment and Spike took point once again, moving quickly into the hallway and moving to cover Lucas. Lucas darted from the open doorway to stand at Spike's back. The two men exchanged a glance and began making their way toward another door and flight of steps.  
  
Just as Lucas reached out to pull the door open, it burst outward slamming into his face and knocking him to the floor. A muzzle flared and Spike felt the gun fly from his hand as a bullet slammed into his shoulder. He went with his momentum and rolled as he hit the ground coming up beside his gun. All he needed was two seconds to reach for it with his other hand and fire but as he looked up he knew it would be two seconds too late.  
  
The thunder of a gun going off echoed through the narrow hallway and down the stairs through the still open door. The pain Spike expected never came and he turned his gaze to Lucas as the would-be assassin that stood in between them dropped to the ground. "Nice shot."  
  
Lucas sent a concerned look in Spike's direction before using the door to pull himself to his feet. "Thanks. You ok?"  
  
"Yeah. No problem."  
  
That established, they moved into the stairwell, twice as cautious as they had been before. The two men descended quickly, heading for a parking garage located beneath the building. Spike pushed the door leading into the dimly lit parking area and scanned it, the path of his gun following his eyes. Nodding to Lucas, both men proceeded into the concrete structure.  
  
'Something's off.' Spike's eyes flicked back and forth between cars looking for anything that would explain the twinge of warning he felt in his gut. BANG! A bullet hit his side. BANG! Lucas dropped as a piece of hot metal imbedded itself in her calf. Both men immediately began firing at where they surmised the shots had come from. A grunt from behind a new red Corvette with fresh bullet holes indicated one of them had hit their mark. "You ok?" Spike directed at the man that was, at least for the moment, his new partner.  
  
"Won't be able to walk very far. Sorry." Lucas looked slightly ashamed, as though he failed somehow.  
  
"For getting shot again? I got hit too."  
  
"How bad?"  
  
Spike glanced unconcerned at the wound in his abdomen. "Just a scratch." He moved to help Lucas to his feet. "Got any ideas?"  
  
"Get out of here?"  
  
Spike rolled his eyes and pointed at a black Mazda something he didn't really recognize. He began a slow limp in its direction. "That looks like a good one."  
  
Lucas followed him at an even slower pace, dragging his left leg. "Good enough for me. We can't go to the hospital and we definitely can't go to the Syndicate."  
  
Spike stopped short and turned back to his associate. "And why can't we go to the Syndicate?"  
  
"Those guys were good. They had to have been hired by someone with a lot of money. They also had information that only a select few of the Syndicate higher-ups were privy to. They shouldn't have known where you were much less how to get in." Lucas moved past Spike to the passenger door of the car and tossed a set of keys at Spike.  
  
Spike quirked an eyebrow but didn't ask about the keys. "Where should we go then? If members of the Syndicate are involved then we can't trust anyone." He climbed into the vehicle and slipped the key into the ignition.  
  
Lucas climbed carefully in and pulled his door shut before answering. "I don't know. We should probably get off the planet until I can investigate this properly."  
  
Spike sat staring out the windshield for a moment in quiet contemplation before saying, "I could call Jet." He turned the key starting the car.  
  
Lucas thought it over. "I don't see a whole lot of choice. They're completely outside the Syndicate." He turned a serious gaze to Spike as the car pulled smoothly from the parking space. "Can we trust them with this?"  
  
Spike nodded solemnly. "I would trust Jet with my life."  
  
Lucas nodded. "All right."  
  
The two men drove about twenty miles outside of town and stopped at a dilapidated gas station. Spike got out and walked over to the payphone. He swiped a cash card through the appropriate slot and dialed.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Spike released a breath he hadn't known that he'd been holding. "Jet, I'm sorry."  
  
Jet's voice came back relieved and suspicious at the same time. "What for?"  
  
"Getting in over my head and calling you to bail me out again."  
  
There was a pause before Jet replied. "That had to hurt."  
  
Spike chuckled softly. "You have no idea."  
  
"What do you need?"  
  
He turned to look at the car where Lucas waited and gave him a quick nod to let him know it was working out. "A pick-up for a friend and I. And it has to be very quiet and very quick."  
  
"Hold on." There were some muffled noises as Jet spoke to someone while holding a hand over the receiver. "Ed, traced your position. You're just lucky we're close by."  
  
"Thanks, Jet." Spike hung up the phone and stumbled back to the car. "They're coming."  
  
Lucas' face was pale. "Good. I hope your friend is good at playing doctor, and I mean that in the non-gutter sense of the term."  
  
Spike grinned at the joke. "Yeah, Jet learned real fast after he met me."  
  
"How long 'til he gets here?"  
  
"Don't know." Spike sighed and dropped into the driver's seat again. "He said they were close."  
  
"Good. I hate the sight of my own blood."  
  
Spike grinned. "You and me both." He closed his eyes, leaning back against the seat and trying to relax while he awaited Jet's latest rescue.  
  
tbc(pretty please with lots of sugar and chocolate and .etc. on top review)  
and to all of you who have.thanks bunches 


	11. Deja Vu

Chapter 11: Déjà vu  
  
"Resolve to create a good future. It's where you'll  
spend the rest of your life."  
Charles Franklin Kettering  
  
The second Jet turned off the communicator, he ran down the hallway toward the hangar. "Faye! Where are you?"  
  
Andy poked her head into the hallway. "She went down to the planet for awhile. What's going on?"  
  
"Trouble." Jet grumbled under his breath, then louder, "Come on. Knowing Spike I'll need some help."  
  
Andy followed him into the hangar. "Spike? Isn't he that guy you were talking about not coming back?" She shook her head. "I'm confused."  
  
Jet rolled his eyes. "He has that effect on people."  
  
The two pilots each climbed aboard their respective ships and took off, leaving a suddenly alone Ed to wander the Bebop unaccompanied.  
  
As they neared the planet's surface, Jet sent Andy the coordinates they were headed for. "Just a quick warning.Spike never manages to get through these things unscathed so."  
  
"I should expect to get a chance to practice my meager paramedic skills."  
  
"Essentially." Jet's voice took on a decidedly sardonic tone.  
  
They landed in a field near an old gas station. It was so old it didn't even appear to be open any more and Jet suddenly had his doubts as to whether he was in the right place. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted movement from the interior of a beat up car parked near a payphone. He tapped Andy's arm to get her attention and headed in that direction. Both bounty hunters pulled out their weapons, wanting to be prepared for anything.  
  
They approached the car from behind, Jet coming up along the driver's side and Andy along the passenger's. As Jet neared the window he caught sight of a distinctive mop of green hair. He stepped forward and leaned down to catch a glimpse of the driver's face. Spike's head turned at that movement and he looked up at Jet with exhausted eyes. "Hey."  
  
Jet opened the door and knelt beside him, examining his injuries. "Hey, yourself."  
  
On the other side of the car, Andy pulled open the other door and squatted to check on its occupant. The dark haired man looked up at her in confusion. She smiled. "Hi, I'm Andy. I'll be your rescuer this evening."  
  
The man smiled weakly up at Andy. "Beautiful and a sense of humor. I like that in a woman."  
  
Andy leaned into the car to get a better look at his injuries but she smiled again as she replied. "Careful, mister, I don't even know your name."  
  
"Lucas. My name is Lucas." The man's smile had taken a decidedly dopey tone.  
  
Andy grinned back at him. "Well, that answers the question about whether or not you've lost much blood. You look drunk."  
  
Jet's voice came from the opposite side of the car. His patient was significantly more subdued. "That's pretty typical, Andy."  
  
Andy glanced at Jet as he spoke then looked back at Lucas again. He was still grinning at her stupidly. "I figured."  
  
Jet started to haul Spike out of the car. "Can he walk?"  
  
Andy shook her head. "I don't think so. He's got a gunshot wound in his lower leg and he's lost a fair amount of blood."  
  
Jet nodded as he started hauling Spike toward the Hammerhead. "I'll be back for him in a minute." He seated his burden in a passenger chair and started toward the door.  
  
"Hey, Jet." The other man stopped upon hearing his name and turned to face his passenger. "Thanks."  
  
Jet smiled at the uncharacteristic response. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be back. I've got to go help Andy with your friend." As he hopped off the wing he heard, "Who's Andy?"  
  
Andy glanced up as Jet approached. She stood up and backed away from the car a few steps.  
  
Jet nodded an acknowledgement and moved in next to the car. He addressed its semi-conscious occupant. "I'm Jet. I'm going to carry you to Andy's ship and she's going to take you somewhere where we can get you fixed up." He reached in to carry out the actions he had just explained when a hand on his arm made him pause.  
  
"Where will Spike be?" His face was deadly serious.  
  
Jet studied the man's face for a moment trying to decide how he should answer. "He's in my ship. You're both going back to the Bebop."  
  
He nodded and fatigue once again seemed to claim him. Lucas relaxed against the seat, almost unconscious. Jet took that as permission to carry out his plan. He picked up Lucas as though he were a very young child that had fallen asleep on the ride home from somewhere and carried him to Andy's ship. He carefully set him in a passenger seat and then joined the ship's owner on the ground. He stood staring at the car he just drug his old partner from, deep in thought.  
  
"Faye's not going to be happy is she?" Andy's voice drifted through Jet's reverie.  
  
He grimaced and turned to face the other bounty hunter. "No, I sort of doubt she will be."  
  
Jet soon discovered what an understatement that was. He and Andy had taken off mere minutes before and Jet had resolved to tell Faye what had transpired immediately. He needed her to get back to the Bebop so they could leave, just in case anyone decided that Spike would call his old friends for help.  
  
"He what?!" Jet pulled the earpiece of the communicator away from his ear. "I thought he was gone, Jet. I recall you telling me he wasn't coming back."  
  
"Yeah, that's what I thought too. He's obviously gotten in over his head and apparently that changed his plans." Jet expertly piloted the Hammerhead and spoke into the communicator at the same time. Let it never be said that the Black Dog couldn't multi-task. He glanced back at Spike. "He's barely conscious right now. All I know for so far is that someone tried to kill him and his friend and he must not think he can trust anyone in the Syndicate or he probably would of called them."  
  
Faye's voice came back dripping sarcasm. "Gee, Jet. And here I just thought he missed your cooking."  
  
He frowned. "Don't start, Faye. You eat my cooking. Don't forget that."  
  
She sighed. "I'm on my way back now. I'll meet you there." The line went dead as she cut the connection.  
  
Jet glanced back at Spike again. "I'm really not sure you're worth all this trouble."  
  
Spike smirked weakly. "Don't deny it. You know you love me."  
  
"And again with the patented Spiegal charm." Jet shook his head in mock disgust. "I guess this means you'll live." He received no response. Spike had fallen into a light doze. He found himself sighing in frustration as he once again landed smack in the middle of another Spike Spiegal firefight.  
  
tbc 


	12. Homecoming

Chapter 12: Homecoming  
  
Faye arrived at the Bebop about half an hour after Jet and Andy brought in Spike and Lucas. The Redtail was barely on the hangar floor and shut down before Faye was scrambling to the ground. Much as she hated to admit it she was anxious to see Spike. She wanted to see for herself that he was back and safe. She didn't expect to find Jet and Andy each working on their respective patients with Ed running supplies back and forth between the two. Lucas was seated in a chair as Andy carefully wound gauze around his bicep. Jet leaned over a figure lying prone on the couch with a pair of forceps in hand. "This is going to hurt."  
  
"No kidding." It was Spike's voice that answered and Faye halted her forward momentum, almost stumbling as she came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes focused on the forceps in Jet's hand as he carefully used them to dig for a bullet that was still lodged in Spike's shoulder.  
  
"Faye-Faye's back!" Jet jumped slightly at Ed's loud exclamation eliciting a pained moan from his patient.  
  
Andy and Lucas turned to look at the new arrival and Spike strained his neck to glance at her before dropping his head back to lean on the couch's arm. "Hold still." Jet scolded the squirming man as he went back to work.  
  
"Welcome home." Andy's voice dripped with irony. Faye watched as she bent to cut away the bottom part of Lucas' pants leg.  
  
Faye snorted softly. "Yeah, it's always nice to get called home suddenly because you're on the run yet again." She turned to look at Spike. "What happened? I thought you weren't coming back?"  
  
Spike glared up at her. "Things change. Especially when people are trying to kill you."  
  
"I thought it was all about protecting us. You know, your 'friends.'" Faye was livid.  
  
He paled slightly. "It is." His expression began to take on an angry edge. "And I'll leave again as soon as possible. I wouldn't want to be a burden."  
  
Faye's face became expressionless. "Then you shouldn't have left in the first place." With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.  
  
Jet looked down at Spike somberly. "You deserved that."  
  
"He didn't." Jet turned to look skeptically at Lucas.  
  
"And what do you know about it?"  
  
Lucas sat up a little straighter in his chair as he answered. "I know he didn't want to go back to the Syndicate and I know that he did it for the innocent people that Vicious would have killed if he'd been allowed to continue, including all of you."  
  
Jet studied Lucas for a moment longer before returning his gaze to his former partner. "You got anything to add?"  
  
Spike looked away and shook his head.  
  
Andy stood quietly and headed for the door Faye had left through. Jet called to her. "Where are you going?"  
  
She grinned over her shoulder. "To try and talk some sense into the single most stubborn person I've ever met." She laughed, then added. "Cake."  
  
Jet raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "She has no idea what she's getting into."  
  
"Who is she anyway?" Spike asked sensing the subject had moved away from his motivation for returning to the Syndicate.  
  
"Faye's new partner. They've only been here for a few days."  
  
Spike nodded. "They here to stay?"  
  
"I don't know, Spike." Jet sighed. "You know as well as I do that Faye does whatever the hell she wants to."  
  
Spike nodded and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Lucas was already dozing in the chair.  
  
Jet sighed and headed to the kitchen to start on dinner. Further discussion would have to wait until the two Dragons had recovered a bit. 'After that, they're fair game and I want to know what's going on.'  
  
As Jet toiled in the kitchen, Andy tackled a different but infinitely more difficult job, talking sense into Faye when she was angry. She knocked the door to the other woman's room. "Faye? Please, let me in."  
  
Faye opened the door a crack and walked back to sit on her bed without bothering to see if Andy would push it the rest of the way open or not. She gave the door a shove and entered Faye's world. "What do you want?"  
  
Her voice was weary and strained as though she was holding back tears. Andy studied the unfamiliar creature for a moment before addressing her. "Well, you just yelled at the friend you seemed to miss an awful lot before and quite frankly, I'm a little confused."  
  
Faye walked over to sit on her bed. Her exhaustion was plain on her face. "It doesn't matter."  
  
Andy shook her head. "I think it does. I think there's more going on here then anyone wants to tell me and considering I'm your partner, I think I need to know."  
  
"There's nothing to tell, Andy."  
  
"I don't buy that. What happened before he left that makes you so angry?"  
  
Faye lowered her head, letting her dark hair fall in front of her eyes. "He was a good friend and it scared me very much when I thought we'd lost him."  
  
Andy quirked an eyebrow at her friend. 'Denial.' "Uh-huh. And you're angry with him because he was a good friend?"  
  
Faye rolled her eyes. "I'm not doing this with you right now."  
  
"Well, It might interest you to know what Lucas had to say about the matter." She paused.  
  
"And that was?"  
  
Andy smiled in satisfaction as she received the question she'd been hoping for. "He said that Spike didn't want to go back to the Syndicate and that the only reason he had was to prevent innocent people from getting killed."  
  
"Innocent people don't work for the Syndicate." Faye glowered at her new partner.  
  
"You know that's not true." Andy waited for some sort of acknowledgement of her statement. The best she got was the absence of a denial. "If someone like Vicious had taken over the Syndicate we'd all be right back where we started. And it sounded to me like he knew some of those that had already died personally."  
  
Faye sighed. "He did."  
  
"Don't you think under circumstances like those he might deserve the benefit of a doubt." Andy gave Faye her best critical look.  
  
Faye shrugged. "Fine. I'll back off a little. But I make no promises not to defend myself when he starts something." She got up from the bed and headed for the door. "And he always starts something."  
  
Andy watched her disappear down the hallway in the direction of the living room. She grinned and followed her friend. "Its always an adventure with that one."  
  
tbc 


	13. Conversations

Thank you, to all who have reviewed. The compliments and the constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.  
  
Chapter 13: Conversations  
  
Faye returned to the living room to find both Syndicate men asleep. Lucas dozed serenely in a chair, head lolling to one side while Spike slept fitfully on the couch, shifting every few minutes in discomfort. After pausing to take in her sleeping comrades, Faye moved into the kitchen to talk to Jet.  
  
Jet saw her approach from the corner of his eye. "Hey. You didn't hurt anyone on your way in here, did you?"  
  
Faye scowled. "No, I don't hit sleeping injured people even if the deserve it."  
  
Jet nodded. "That's good to know."  
  
"Don't start with me, Jet. Andy already beat you to the whole lecture thing. I'll try to behave. I won't promise not to fight back though. If he can't act mature that's not my problem."  
  
Jet glared at her. "And he's the only one here who ever acts immature." His voice dripped sarcasm.  
  
Faye shook her head, an angry retort on the tip of her tongue, then changed her mind and simply sighed. She studied Jet's face. "Aren't you mad?"  
  
Jet turned to face her. "At Spike?" She nodded that he understood her meaning so he continued. "Yeah, I'm mad. He left to get himself killed and then when he didn't, he called to say he was never coming back. Now he's back. He's still my friend, Faye. He's your friend too."  
  
Faye gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Is he?"  
  
"You know he is."  
  
Faye's gaze dropped to the dirty linoleum. "Friends don't abandon each other. They don't run off to die when their friends need them."  
  
Jet's eyes held kind sadness as he replied. "You know there was more to it then that. Lucas told us about some of his reasons." He rubbed a hand over his tired features before going on. "He said Spike wanted to come back but he felt he had to stay. He was worried someone worse then Vicious would take over the Syndicate and that more people would be hurt."  
  
Faye looked up to meet Jet's eyes. "Andy told me. Spike always did have a soft spot for people that couldn't defend themselves."  
  
Jet smiled fondly. "Yeah, he did. Apparently, he still does."  
  
Faye's usual smirk returned, if somewhat subdued. "I did say I would try to be good, didn't I?"  
  
"Yup, and I'm holding you to that." He grinned at her before turning back to the stove and the spaghetti he had been working on.  
  
Faye left the room feeling better. 'Jet's good at that, making everything better.' She smiled as she walked back into the living room. Ed was working on her computer in the middle of the floor completely oblivious to the fact she might be in the way. 'It's nice to see some things never change.' Faye's smile broadened at the thought.  
  
"Hey." Faye turned toward the greeting to see Spike attempting to sit up from his previously reclined position on the couch.  
  
"Hey. Feeling any better?" She asked as she bit back her instinctive caustic remark. 'This being nice stuff is hard.'  
  
"A little. Thanks." Having achieved an upright position, Spike leaned his head against the back of the couch weary at the effort he'd just put forth. He was definitely too tired for their usual acidic banter.  
  
Faye shuffled her feet uncertainly. What could she say that wouldn't start a fight? She couldn't think of anything.  
  
"Jet told you why I stayed?" His eyes were closed but his voice was alert.  
  
"Yeah. He said you were trying to keep things from getting as bad as they were under Vicious."  
  
He nodded without lifting his head from the couch. "Yeah. There is no one else right now. I don't want to be the leader of the Red Dragons."  
  
Faye slowly lowered herself onto the table beside the couch. "What do you want to do?"  
  
His eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling for a moment before smiling at her. "You're the first one who's asked me that, Faye." He paused, thinking. "I don't really know what I want. I wasn't exactly happy hunting bounties on the Bebop but that could have just been because I didn't expect to be. I know I don't want to be in the Syndicate. I think I just want to be happy for a while. That's what I'd really like."  
  
She studied him, taking in the emotional fatigue as well as the physical. "What would make you happy, Spike?"  
  
His mismatched eyes met hers then and he smiled again. "I wish I knew." He closed his eyes and leaned back.  
  
Faye stood, not sure what to think of their first real conversation since he'd gone to fight Vicious. "You should get some more sleep."  
  
He nodded, eyes still closed and she stood watching his relaxed form as he slowly drifted back to unconsciousness. After his breathing slowed to the steady rhythm of sleep, Faye moved quietly around the edge of the table and headed for the hallway once again.  
  
As she rounded the corner into the hallway she almost ran headlong into Andy. "Hi." Andy wore a smirk that seemed to radiate mischief as she greeted her friend.  
  
Faye suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "Hi." Andy's smirk grew into a full-fledged grin. "What?"  
  
"You like him."  
  
Faye's heart jumped and she silently berated herself for such a silly reaction. Outwardly, she gave no sign of her inner attempt at a heart attack. "Who?"  
  
"You know who."  
  
"Obviously, I don't. What are you talking about?"  
  
Andy rolled her eyes and slouched against the wall. "Spike, of course."  
  
Faye scrunched her nose in irritation. "That's ridiculous."  
  
"Sure it is." Andy didn't bother to soften her sarcasm even slightly.  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about." Faye's hands unconsciously balled into fists as adrenaline coursed through her system. "You hardly know me at all."  
  
"One would have to be stupid or blind to miss the sparks flying during your conversation just now." Andy's arms folded across her chest and her amused smile turned to a frown. "Neither of you saw me come in." She tempered her ill received remark with what she perceived would be a better-received comment. "You hide it well but I could still tell how devastated you were when you thought he wasn't coming back."  
  
Faye sighed and slumped against the wall beside her partner. "I admit nothing."  
  
Andy's smirk returned. "But you're not denying it either?"  
  
Faye smiled faintly. "I plead the fifth."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Faye sighed again. "Don't worry about it. It's an old Earth expression."  
  
Andy nodded, willing to let it go. "Oh."  
  
The two women stood in silent companionship for several long moments before Faye turned a sly smile in Andy's direction. "What about you and Lucas?"  
  
"He's not my type."  
  
Faye's mouth dropped open. "How can he not be your type? He's cute and smart and available." Faye paused, then added. "And he seems relatively emotionally stable. You can't ask for much more than that."  
  
Andy laughed. "Ok, ok. So maybe he's everybody's type."  
  
"And?" Faye prodded.  
  
"Well, you said it yourself, he's cute, smart, and emotionally stable. And as far as I can tell not married or gay." Andy shot Faye an incredulous look. "Of course I like him." They laughed and chatted for a good half hour before heading back into the living room on their way to see if Jet was done cooking yet.  
  
BOOM!!! A loud explosion shook the entire ship, sending its occupants flying in all directions. Then, the lights flickered and went out.  
  
tbc(enough chatting, on with the action-please review) 


	14. I Love You Dumbass

I took the advice of one of my reviewers and went back over this chapter. It kind of sucked. I've added and rearranged some stuff so hopefully its better now.  
  
I just couldn't resist the title of this chapter. I thought it was funny anyway.  
  
Chapter 14: I Love You, Dumbass  
  
Spike woke up on the floor beside the couch, pain lancing through every part of his body. He blinked rapidly trying to decide if his eyes were open or not when a beam of light cut through the darkness on the opposite side of the room. "Everyone ok?" Jet's voice sounded completely calm. Spike's anxiety grew as he realized that that particular quality of calm only came out in the most dire of situations. 'We're in deep shit.' His musing was interrupted as the flashlight beam fell on his face, blinding him.  
  
"Hey! That's bright." He protested bringing up his good arm to shield his eyes.  
  
"I guess that's a 'yes, Jet. I'm ok.' from Spike. Anyone else alive?"  
  
Lucas' voice sounded from near the chair he'd been sitting in previously. "Unfortunately."  
  
"I'm here too." Andy groaned.  
  
"Faye? Ed?"  
  
"Ed is ok but Faye-Faye fell on Tomato. She is broken." Ed sounded on the brink of tears.  
  
"Faye or your computer?" Jet moved in the young hacker's direction as he asked for clarification.  
  
"Tomato is broken. Faye-Faye is asleep."  
  
Spike heard Jet stumble and the cone of light spun wildly. An indignant yelp announced that Jet's unseen obstacle had been Ein. "Damn dog." Jet muttered as he shined the flashlight in the direction he guessed Ed and Faye to be.  
  
Spike had slowly been pulling himself to a sitting position against the edge of the couch when he caught sight of Faye in the small illuminated area Jet shined on the ground. He gasped at her pale countenance and the thin line of blood that ran down her cheek. Her eyes were closed and not for the first time, Spike found himself wishing that the tempestuous woman was sitting beside him on the famous yellow couch verbally abusing him for all she was worth. 'She's ok. She's always ok.' He strained his ears in the shadowed living room, listening for some confirmation of his internal statement.  
  
"Faye?" Jet shook the unconscious woman's shoulder. "Wake up, Faye."  
  
Faye's eyelids fluttered slowly before opening to look dizzily up at Jet. "What happened?"  
  
Jet smiled his relief before answering. "I'm not sure. There was a proximity alarm before the explosion."  
  
"What about the emergency lights? Shouldn't they be on?" Spike spoke up, hiding his own relief at Faye's recovery before anyone could notice.  
  
"They should be." Jet wore a grim expression that was partially visible in the glow of the flashlight. "Given our current situation as protectors of the leader of the Red Dragons," He looked pointedly at Spike. "I would guess this has something to do with you."  
  
"Could be Faye's creditors." Spike growled.  
  
"Jet." Faye's voice held a warning.  
  
"I know, I know. He started it." Jet sighed. "We have more important things to worry about right now." He shined the light in Faye's eyes. "Get over it."  
  
"Grrrr." Faye squinted in the light. "Get that out of my eyes!"  
  
"How could they have found you?" Andy asked. "You didn't tell anyone where you were going, did you?" She looked back and forth between the two Syndicate members.  
  
"Of course not." Spike snapped irritably. "We're not stupid."  
  
"And yet, someone is causing serious damage to my ship." Jet responded in an equally aggravated tone.  
  
"I don't know, Jet!" Spike's voice had grown very loud.  
  
Lucas heaved a heavy sigh. "All they would have to do is look closely at where Spike's been for the last few years. It wasn't exactly a secret." He shook his head. "We shouldn't have come here."  
  
Spike wore a guilty expression. "Yeah." His voice was soft.  
  
"Don't do that, Spike. They can't know for certain you're here. I know you weren't followed. Given that, they probably would have come looking for you here even if you hadn't come back."  
  
A loud thud resounded through the ship, forestalling further comment. "They're in the ship." Jet's voice was a surprised, uneven whisper.  
  
Spike poked his hands into his jacket pockets. "Jet, where's my gun?" Spike was pulling himself onto the couch, wincing as he went. He sat carefully on the edge waiting for the pain to become more manageable.  
  
Jet crossed the room to the table and finding that Spike's weapon was no longer where he'd put it, he began to shine the light around on the floor nearby. It took him mere moments to find but it was almost moments too long.  
  
The emergency lights came on just in time to illuminate three Kevlar clad men with big guns as they entered the room from the staircase behind the couch. Spike raised his gun just as the intruders opened fire. He fired two shots, each finding a target before Jet and Faye added their weapons to the fray.  
  
Spike's first two shots each fatally wounded their target. Unfortunately, they also alerted the gunmen's comrades to their location. Jet hit the third man and moved swiftly to help Spike up, hauling him indelicately by the forearm into the slight shelter of the kitchen area. Faye and Andy followed, a limping Lucas between them. Ed and Ein brought up the rear.  
  
The Bebop crew arranged themselves around kitchen appliances and meager furniture to achieve the most cover that was possible. Ed and Ein were summarily shoved into a stainless steel cabinet.  
  
"Here come more." Andy's voice called from the doorway before she ducked back into the room.  
  
"At least they don't have an elevated position on us from here." Lucas mumbled as he checked the clip in his own weapon.  
  
"True. However, there also isn't any other way out of here." Faye returned calmly.  
  
"Who's idea was this again?" Spike grumbled.  
  
"Hey! I didn't see anyone else with any better ideas." Jet's voice was indignant.  
  
"Anyone else find this vaguely reminiscent of the Alamo?" Faye muttered to herself as she scrambled to slip a fresh clip in her gun.  
  
Once again, the ragtag group drew their weapons and took cautious aim at their enemies. It quickly became obvious that they weren't going to back down easily.  
  
Lucas rose mere inches to get a better shot at one man that had made it down the steps and into the living room. As he sighted along the barrel of his sidearm, he completely missed another man take aim at him and prepare to put a bullet cleanly through his forehead.  
  
At the last second, Andy caught a glimpse of hard steel just in time to fling herself across the open center of the kitchen and into Lucas. A shot rang out and the two fighters fell in a tangle on the now bloody linoleum.  
  
Andy clutched her shoulder in pain as Lucas moved decisively, first putting down the sniper on the stairs and then the gunmen that had been steadily making his way across the living room. He whirled to face her, concern etched across his features. "Are you ok?"  
  
Andy elegantly raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"  
  
Lucas smiled. "At least he didn't hit your sense of humor."  
  
She grinned. "Couldn't have that now, could we?"  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion from several feet behind them.  
  
Faye had just tackled Spike and when Andy and Lucas turned to look, Spike was crushing her with his body.  
  
"OW!!! Get off me, lunkhead! You're heavy!" Faye shoved at his shoulders in the hope that he would move faster.  
  
Spike pulled himself off her, carefully staying out of the line of fire. "What was that?"  
  
"What was what?" Faye was calmer now that she wasn't being smothered.  
  
"The whole tackling me when I'm trying to shoot thing."  
  
"You were about it get hit."  
  
"Was not."  
  
"Were too."  
  
"Wasn't."  
  
"Were."  
  
"Children!" Andy called, stopping them before a fistfight started in the middle of the shoot out.  
  
Both glowered at Andy without words. When her punishment beneath the death glares of two of the most stubborn people she knew turned to one another. The anger of their stare didn't last. In the silence of the moment their eyes met and held. Something passed between them that neither of the two could define. As quickly as it had begun, it ended and Faye was pulling herself into a better stance to shoot from, establishing her cool cover once again.  
  
They slowly made progress, taking out one man after another until the remaining shooters fell back into the upstairs hallway.  
  
"Send out Spiegal and the rest of you won't be harmed!" The anonymous voice called from the protected area where he hid with his personal army.  
  
"Too late for that." Andy muttered under her breath, wincing as pain shot through her shoulder.  
  
"Not a chance!" Jet yelled back.  
  
"Jet!" Spike hissed. "We're almost out of bullets. There's no choice." He started to stand from his position on the floor before Faye grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.  
  
"No." Jet responded with infinite calm. "You're our friend, Spike. We're not giving you up. You're not getting away that easy."  
  
Spike smiled at his determined friends. "Thanks." He stood up and strode quickly into the center of the living room before anyone had registered what he was doing, saying, "But I won't sacrifice all of you."  
  
The leader of the intruders moved into the doorway, raising a gun and aiming it unfalteringly at the current leader of the Red Dragons. "So you do have some modicum of honor." The man smirked gravely. "Frankly, I'm surprised."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"You don't know? That really surprises me." The man moved further into the room, keeping his gun trained on Spike the whole time. "My name is Nathaniel Xander. I worked with Vicious." His eyes narrowed and his finger tightened menacingly on the trigger. "You killed him."  
  
Spike stared back fearlessly. "Never heard of you."  
  
Xander's expression softened. "You wouldn't have. I was on assignment elsewhere when you and Vicious clashed."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I should think that would be rather obvious by now. I did, after all, try to have you killed on Mars." He tilted his head to the side and shook it sadly. "It's so hard to find good help these days." Xander rubbed a thoughtful hand over his chin. "But there's really only one thing I want." He paused dramatically. "You." The now familiar smirk twisted with hatred. "Dead." He pulled the trigger.  
  
"No!" Faye barreled into Spike for the second time that evening.  
  
Jet rose from his sheltered position when he saw Faye burst into motion. He raised his weapon, grim determination set on his face. He fired at the same instant Xander did.  
  
Xander's shot went wide as Faye tackled Spike, striking the floor with a sharp thunk! Jet's aim was dead on. His bullet hit Xander center mass and dropped him in an inert heap. "Who's next?! I've got plenty more where that came from!" Jet threatened loudly.  
  
A face poked through the doorway for a split second, then, "Fall back. Xander's dead."  
  
Moment's later the crew heard the sound of a departing ship. "Every one ok?" Jet snapped the safety on his weapon and tucked it into the hidden holster he'd taken to wearing on his person at all times when he first became a cowboy.  
  
"Other then the blood, we're good." Lucas was hastily tying a dishtowel around Andy's wounded bicep as he spoke.  
  
"Ed?"  
  
She climbed out of the cabinet, dragging Ein out behind her. "Ed is unharmed, Jet-person." And she skipped into the living room in typical Ed fashion, completely unaffected by what had just occurred.  
  
"Faye? Spike?"  
  
"We're ok, Jet." Spike sat up beside Faye, carefully avoiding her eyes.  
  
Jet smiled in relieved satisfaction. "In that case, I'm going to take a look at the bridge and find out how extensive the damage is. Ed, come with me. I could use your help." The formidable figure of Jet and the diminutive one of Edward wandered off in the direction of the bridge, a study in contrast.  
  
Spike turned his gaze to Faye. He waited until their eyes met before speaking. "My hero."  
  
She smacked his arm and climbed to her feet. "You could just say 'thank you' but that would be asking far too much."  
  
"I wouldn't want to behave out of character." Spike grinned as he baited her. 'It's scary how much I miss this.'  
  
"Screw you, Spike." Faye turned on her heel and stalked out the door.  
  
Lucas and Andy stared. "Yes?" Spike responded to their unspoken question.  
  
Andy answered. "You know, Spike, if you keep that up someday she'll be the one to leave. And she won't come back."  
  
Spike sighed and nodded. He leaned his head against the now bullet- riddled couch and reveled in the friendly silence of the room. 'I just want a few minutes of quiet before I have to deal with it all again.'  
  
"Are you provoking her in the hope that it won't hurt as much to leave this time?" Lucas' voice was so soft Spike had to strain to hear it.  
  
He shook his head. "We used to talk like that all the time. It was the only way we really communicated."  
  
Lucas quirked an eyebrow. "You call that communication?"  
  
Spike scowled. "It doesn't matter." He paused, then changed the subject. "When do we leave?"  
  
"The danger is over for the moment. We can go now if you want."  
  
Spike nodded solemnly. "I'll tell Jet." He stood and made his way to the bridge.  
  
Jet was sitting on the floor beside an open console, wiring spilling out on the floor all around him. Despite the mess it looked to Spike, Jet seemed to know exactly what he was doing. "Jet?"  
  
"Hey, Spike." Jet studied his friend's face. "You're leaving." He stated with grave finality.  
  
"Yeah. I have to go back."  
  
"I figured." He stood up and extended a hand. "It was good to see you again. Good luck."  
  
Spike took his hand and shook it firmly. "It was good to see you too, Jet. Thanks again, for everything."  
  
Jet smiled sadly, relinquishing the offered hand. "Don't be a stranger. Regardless of the initial reception, you'll always be welcome here."  
  
Spike nodded and smiled, turning to leave. Just then, Ed and Ein skipped in. The hacker stopped in front of him, sensing that there was a problem. "Good bye, Ed. I have to go."  
  
The young girl looked up at him with suddenly tear filled eyes and nodded. Then she stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around her friend. "Bye, Spike-person. Edward will miss you."  
  
At the same time that Spike was making his farewells, Lucas was preparing to do the same. He smiled at Andy, drinking in every detail of her. He wanted to remember her essence. "I'm really glad I got to meet you. Maybe if we had more time."  
  
He was interrupted by a sudden lip-lock bestowed by the aforementioned auburn haired beauty. She pulled back and gazed deeply into his eyes. "You can't get rid of me that easily." She grinned. "I'm coming with you."  
  
Lucas returned her brilliant smile. "Are you sure?"  
  
"I've never been more certain of anything before in my life." The couple climbed to their feet and made their way to the hangar where Spike stood waiting for them.  
  
"Did you say what you needed to?" Lucas looked significantly in Spike's direction.  
  
"I said good-bye to Ed and Jet. I couldn't find Faye."  
  
"I'm right here, lunkhead." Faye's furious voice came from the door to the hangar.  
  
Spike turned toward her. "Good." He took a single step in her direction. "I just wanted to say thanks, Faye. I'm glad I got to see all of you again."  
  
"And you're leaving. Just like that?" A few angry tears escaped her careful control, sliding down her cheeks to dampen her t-shirt.  
  
He closed his eyes to gather his thoughts before answering her. "I have to, Faye. I don't have a choice. It's my responsibility."  
  
"Of course you can't. There's no one else in the whole universe that could lead the Red Dragons successfully." Her bitter words were punctuated by the sound of an approaching ship; the one Lucas had called to take them back to Mars.  
  
"I'm sorry, Faye." Faye momentarily felt guilty as she watched the anguished expression that crossed his features. "I have to go." He turned from her and started toward the small ship that had landed in the hangar.  
  
When he reached the top stair leading into the ship he heard Faye shout over the noise of the engines. Her words were laced with irony. "I love you, dumbass!" He turned at her sudden confession to see her retreating into the interior of the Bebop. Bowing his head, Spike climbed into the ship.  
  
tbc(almost done!!!!! please, please, please review) 


	15. The Obvious Answer

Chapter 15: The Obvious Answer  
  
They had been back for almost a week. Their wounds were healing and everything was returning to the way it had been before. Spike leaned against a huge plate glass window in his spacious black and chrome office. He idly played with a silver letter opener. The sharp object flipped end over end as Spike tossed it, first catching the handle then the blade. Handle. Blade. Handle. Blade.  
  
A knock sounded on the door. "Come in." Spike's fidgeting continued even as he turned his head to see who was at the door.  
  
Lucas entered. "Hey." He seated himself in front of Spike's big black granite desk.  
  
Spike turned back to the window. "What's up?"  
  
Lucas shrugged. "Not much." He watched Spike for a few moments as he continued to play with the letter opener. He took a breath to comment but let it out and just raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
Spike didn't turn around. "What are you doing here then? You said you had meetings all afternoon."  
  
His assistant scowled darkly. "No, I said you had meetings all afternoon. As I recall, I had to take over after you fell asleep in the first two."  
  
Spike smirked at the window. "Semantics."  
  
Lucas rose from his chair in irritation. "No, not semantics. This is the job, Spike. I know you don't want it but you agreed to do it."  
  
The amusement drained from the former cowboy's face. His voice was somber. "I know." He turned flat, emotionless eyes on his friend. "What's on the agenda?"  
  
"Nothing, right now. I already attended all your meetings for this afternoon."  
  
Spike looked seriously back at him. "Thanks, Lucas."  
  
He nodded, somewhat appeased, and sat back down in the leather chair he'd inhabited previously. "Andy is settling in. I've got her on payroll as a bodyguard."  
  
Spike smiled weakly. "At least something's working out well."  
  
Lucas flashed a silly grin. "Yeah."  
  
"I take it you two are an official item then."  
  
Lucas nodded, still smiling. "And I couldn't be happier."  
  
Just then, another knock sounded at the door. "Come in." Both men said in unison, looking at each other with amusement.  
  
Andy poked her head into the room before coming the rest of the way in. "Am I interrupting?"  
  
"No." Lucas stood and grinned at the red haired woman in the doorway. "You're never an interruption."  
  
Andy grinned. "You're so sweet."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Lucas was just telling me I have to actually go to my meetings from now on. Imagine that."  
  
Andy frowned in thought, tugging absently on the sling her arm rested in.  
  
"It was a figure of speech, Andy. I didn't mean it literally." Spike added, observing her expression.  
  
She returned a wry smile. "I got that."  
  
Lucas asked, "Why so reflective then?"  
  
"Spike, you hate this job, right?" Andy appeared to be working through a train of thought.  
  
"Yeah. I thought I made that pretty clear." Spike was ironic.  
  
"And you stayed with the Dragons because there was no one else to take your place?"  
  
Spike nodded, growing impatient. "Do you have a point?"  
  
"Bear with me. How does one become the leader of the Red Dragons?"  
  
Lucas answered this time. "You'd have to either kill the current leader or be appointed by him."  
  
Andy smiled slyly at Spike. "And why haven't you appointed someone else?"  
  
"Because there is no one else. I've already said that." Spike growled pulling a cigarette from his jacket pocket and flicking a plain stainless steel lighter open. He lit it expertly and dropped the lighter back into his pocket.  
  
"You could appoint anyone you wanted to."  
  
"But if the person he appoints is incompetent or power hungry the people that depend on the Syndicate for their daily lives will suffer. The Syndicate would fall apart under poor management." Lucas joined the conversation once again. "There aren't any good candidates. I've looked."  
  
Andy laughed brightly and pointed at him with her good hand. "What about you?"  
  
Spike turned to look at Lucas, sudden interest on his face. "Yeah, what about you, Lucas? You're perfect. Why weren't you on the list of candidates."  
  
"I'm just an assistant." Lucas wore a stunned expression.  
  
"Yeah, right. You're 'just' an assistant like I'm a rodeo clown." Andy smirked at the two men.  
  
Lucas shook his head. "It won't work. The elders won't approve it."  
  
"Why don't we ask them that? You've proven yourself to be a competent businessman as well as a fearless warrior. It doesn't hurt to try." Andy wore a look that indicated she believed she'd already won.  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Spike smoked his cigarette, smiling happily for the first time in a long time.  
  
Andy looked to Lucas. "What do you say, Lucas? Want to lead the Red Dragons?"  
  
Lucas glanced back and forth between the two. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, Spike doesn't want to and I have been doing this sort of work all of my life."  
  
"But do you want to?" Spike's voice was soft as he spoke to his friend, trying to gauge his real motivation.  
  
Lucas smiled. "Yeah, I think I do. It would be a challenge."  
  
Spike crushed his spent cigarette in the ashtray on the desk and picked up the phone. He dialed and spoke quietly with first a secretary and then the head of the elders. "I have a successor." He paused to listen. "Lucas." Another pause. "Yeah." The other two strained to hear the other end of the conversation without success. "Uh-huh. How about now?" Pause. "Great." He hung up the phone.  
  
"And?" The newly hired bodyguard questioned.  
  
Spike grinned and saluted Lucas. "Hail to the chief."  
  
"They allowed it?" Lucas was breathless.  
  
Spike nodded. "They didn't even sound surprised."  
  
Andy bounced and threw her good arm around Lucas' neck. "That's awesome!" She kissed him chastely on the lips before proclaiming. "You'll be wonderful."  
  
"I'll try." The couple smiled and gazed sappily into each other's eyes.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes and headed for the door. Pulling another cigarette from his jacket as he walked. "You two are gross."  
  
"Where are you going?" Lucas called without breaking his hold on Andy.  
  
Spike grinned back at them. "Home. Where else?"  
  
"Spike!" Andy called, stopping him at the door. He turned to look at her quizzically. She winked. "See you later, cowboy."  
  
Spike made a Western-like gesture, tipping a hat to her before opening the door. He left the building without a backward glance.  
  
tbc(I swear this is almost the end) 


	16. Feelings

Chapter 16: Feelings  
  
Snip. Snip. Two small branches fell to the floor with a whisper as Jet tried with more success then was his norm to shape the small bonsai trees. Steel pruning shears flashed in the garish overhead lights. Snip. Another branch dropped to join its mates. Jet sat back and examined his handiwork. He smiled in satisfaction.  
  
A soft knock sounded on the frame of his door. Jet looked up into the lean face of his old partner. "Spike! What are you doing here?"  
  
The other man smirked. "Coming home."  
  
"What do you mean?" Jet carefully laid down the shears.  
  
Spike slouched against the doorframe. "Well, we took care of the whole people trying to kill me issue."  
  
Jet raised an eyebrow in Spike's direction.  
  
"Andy brought up an interesting point yesterday." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Lucas was so busy trying to keep the Red Dragons from going under and finding a new leader that he completely forgot about the most obvious candidate for the job." Spike paused again and grinned. "Himself."  
  
Jet stayed where he was crouched beside his trees. "Lucas?"  
  
Spike simply nodded.  
  
"Lucas is the leader of the Red Dragons now?" Jet seemed to be having difficulty wrapping his mind around the idea.  
  
"Yup."  
  
Jet scratched his chin thoughtfully. "And you're back now." He paused to catch Spike's eye. "To stay?"  
  
Spike gave an uncharacteristically gentle smile. "Yeah. I'm back for good."  
  
Jet grinned. "You seen Faye yet? Or Ed?"  
  
"Not yet." His smile faded. "I've got a bad feeling that Faye's not going to be very happy to see me."  
  
"You might be surprised." Jet's expression was enigmatic. "Go find her."  
  
Spike raised an eyebrow but refrained from comment. He backed out the door to follow Jet's advice.  
  
He almost tripped over a sleeping Ed and Ein as he rounded the corner into the living room. He smiled in amusement and continued past them, looking for Faye. She wasn't in the living room, the kitchen, or her bedroom. She hadn't been in the hangar when he'd arrived but he had almost decided to look there again with the hope that she'd gone there while he'd been talking to Jet. He knew she was on the Bebop because the Redtail was in the hangar when he'd arrived. 'Unless she left while I was with Jet. What if she saw my ship and left because she doesn't want to see me.' An unfamiliar knot of anxiety twisted in his stomach at the thought, throbbing and raising his heartbeat. He quickened his pace, not certain why he was so disconcerted by the idea of Faye's absence.  
  
Thump. Thumpthump. Thump. He skidded to an abrupt halt. 'What's that noise?' He looked toward the door he was standing beside. It was the room he used to work out in. The room he used to go to in the middle of the night to think. He would stand at the window, looking out at the vast emptiness of space and reflecting on the irony of his world. To the best of his knowledge, no one else really went in there. 'I've been gone too long.' He briefly considered knocking. 'Nah.' The door swung silently open.  
  
Faye threw a quick combination of punches and kicks into the punching bag she'd set up. Each blow connected with a satisfying impact. Her fists stung but she'd never liked wearing gloves. 'Don't have the luxury when you're fighting a bounty.' She paused, the sudden feeling of being watched setting her on edge. Without turning she said, "What do you want, Jet?"  
  
Faye could just make out the sound of rustling fabric and soft-soled shoes on the metal floor. The man behind her sighed. "It's me, Faye." She whirled to face Spike's familiar voice. She stared.  
  
He quirked a smile. "Hey."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Her words came out more harshly then she intended.  
  
He winced. "It's nice to see you too."  
  
She continued to stare.  
  
"So."  
  
Her eyes fixed on a point behind him. "So."  
  
"I'm sorry." His voice was quiet and sincere.  
  
Faye's eyes drifted back to his face. She studied him with a somewhat puzzled expression. "For what?"  
  
He sighed again. "Everything. For making all of you worry. For dragging you into my shit all over again. For leaving. All of it."  
  
She looked away. After thinking for a moment, she replied. "It's ok."  
  
It was Spike's turn to look confused. "Ok?"  
  
"Yeah." A slow smirk spread over her pretty features. "We know you can't help yourself. You've always been a troublemaker."  
  
He smiled back. "So."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm back."  
  
She looked surprised. "How?"  
  
"Lucas took over for me. It was Andy's idea."  
  
Faye nodded. "He's perfect for the job."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What will you do now?"  
  
Spike looked away as though he were lost in thought. "Well." He glanced at his watch. "Jet's probably started cooking so, I'll probably go get ready for dinner."  
  
"I meant on a slightly larger scale then this evening." She growled in irritation.  
  
He grinned widely. "I missed this."  
  
She scowled. "Pissing me off?"  
  
"I prefer to think of it as verbal sparring with a worthy opponent."  
  
Faye shook her head with a small smile. "Sure, Spike." She turned back to the punching bag and began her routine again.  
  
Spike leaned against the wall, watching his old partner as she pounded the innocent leather bag. "I thought about what you said before I left."  
  
Faye didn't pause. "You heard me?"  
  
"Yeah. I heard." He took a deep calming breath. "Did you mean it?"  
  
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."  
  
He nodded. "You want to know what I think?"  
  
Faye laughed humorlessly. "Probably not."  
  
"I think" He paused to steady his voice. "the feeling is definitely mutual."  
  
Faye threw one last blow before turning to face him with an incredulous look. "What feeling?"  
  
He groaned. "Come on, Faye. You know what I'm talking about."  
  
Faye settled bruised fists on her hips defiantly. "I don't think I do. You'll have to elaborate."  
  
"You're really going to make me say it?" Spike whined.  
  
"Most definitely." She waited.  
  
"Fine." He crossed his arms and spit out the words before he could contemplate them too deeply. "I love you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Spike paused for a moment, examining how he felt. "Yeah, I do." His voice carried his considerable surprise.  
  
Faye nodded. "Good." The young bounty hunter moved past him out the door.  
  
Spike followed her into the hallway, staring after her retreating form. "Good?" He shook his head in disbelief. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
But Faye didn't answer. She just sauntered down the Bebop's halls, smiling. She pictured Spike's face and thought, 'It's going to be a beautiful day.'  
  
The end  
  
Anyone interested in a sequel? Let me know what you think. 


End file.
